Masco superintendent is retiring

Masconomet Superintendent Dr. Darrell Lockwood has announced his intention to retire this summer.

At a Tuesday, Jan. 28 School Committee meeting, the Masconomet Regional School Committee officially accepted the resignation of Dr. Lockwood, who has been superintendent for almost four years. The School Committee first learned of Lockwood's plan to retire a week earlier.

He will continue his work as superintendent until July 2014, completing his 4th year with the Masconomet Regional School District. The School Committee hopes to have another superintendent in place by the time Lockwood leaves.

"We, of course, wish him the best of luck in his retirement," said Committee Chair Paula Fitzsimmons. "I’ve spoken to a couple of parents [about the announcement], and overwhelmingly people are disappointed that he is leaving. The committee is sad to see him go, but we understand that people move on."

Lockwood told the Transcript that he made the decision to retire very recently.

"I think this is good timing for my family and myself," he said. "I turned 60 in December, and I just think it’s time for me to choose to do other things. With more time on my hands I’m going to ski more, hike more, pick my guitar back up, do more reading, that sort of thing."

He added that he does plan on continuing part-time work in the field of education, though he doesn’t yet know what specifically this will entail. He has worked as a superintendent of schools, in various districts, for 16 years, and has also worked as an assistant superintendent, teacher, principal, and assistant principal.

"He’s excited about learning, and excited about teaching, even in his role as superintendent," said Fitzsimmons.

She described some of his accomplishments over the past 4 years, noting that Lockwood appointed a new Head of Pupil and Personnel Services, High School Principal, and Middle School Principal, as well as conducted union negotiations last year.

"He has great energy as a superintendent, setting goals and getting things done," Fitzsimmons said. "He’s not afraid to tackle tough issues; he’s willing to talk to whoever he needs to talk to [in order] to get something done; if he says he’s going to follow up on something, he does."

School Committee member Daniel Volchok agreed.

"Darrell has done a great job in moving the district forward and working with the Tri-Town communities," he said.

As far as ongoing projects, Lockwood said that he has a good deal to work on before his departure in July.

"We’ll present our budget, we’ll also transition to some new school committee members in May, and there are a number of educational projects underway," he said. "We’re working on implementing an educator evaluation system, we’re involved in continuing negotiations with our tutors, and we’re starting a search committee for a department head of science, technology, and engineering."

Page 2 of 2 - Search Committee is forming

As Lockwood works on these projects, the School Committee will be looking for a new superintendent. They have already begun the process of forming a search committee, said Fitzsimmons.

"We as a school committee always want as much notice [of retirement] as possible, because you want to have time to find the best super who’s the best fit for your school," she explained. "On Tuesday evening, when we accepted [Lockwood’s] intention to retire, we also started the process of looking for a new superintendent."

Fitzsimmons said that the School Committee is currently advertising the Search Committee consultant position, and once they find a consultant, the Search Committee will begin advertising the open superintendent position.

The Search Committee itself will most likely consist of 10-12 people, including members of the School Committee, school staff members, and community representatives from Topsfield, Middleton, and Boxford.

"I’m looking forward to the search and selecting another well-qualified superintendent," said Volchok.

Fitzsimmons said that she hopes to find a candidate well before the 2014-2015 school year begins, and ideally before Lockwood retires.

"We are starting our search with the goal of having a new superintendent in place with some overlap with Dr. Lockwood," she said. "However, we will make sure the decision is thoughtful and if we need extra time, we will do that."

In terms of what Lockwood views as important qualities to look for in the next superintendent, he had several suggestions.

"You need to be a people person, and you need to be astute with the politics of small communities and the finances of small communities," he said. "You need to be responsive to students and community members who need your help, and of course you need to understand education and the way that educational institutions work."

As far as how the search committee will find the right person, Lockwood said to think long-term.

"I really think that the search committee needs to develop a focus and picture of Masconomet schools, not only for now but for the future," he said, "and work to find someone based on that."